Leaves of Grass · Chapter
Long, Long Hence explained
The poet reflects on the distant future, imagining that after centuries of accumulation, denial, and growth, his songs will finally reach their full fruition and be understood by countless readers.
What happens
The poet reflects on the distant future, imagining that after centuries of accumulation, denial, and growth, his songs will finally reach their full fruition and be understood by countless readers.
Themes in this chapter
Death and Immortality
The poem envisions the songs achieving immortality through future readers, outlasting the poet's own time.
The Poet as Prophet and Unifier
The poet speaks prophetically of his work's eventual fruition across ages, uniting past and future.
Characters to notice
- Narrator
The speaker contemplates the long journey of his work toward future recognition.
Key passages
“After a long, long course, hundreds of years, denials, Accumulations, rous’d love and joy and thought, Hopes, wishes, aspirations, ponderings, victories, myriads of readers, Coating, compassing, covering—after ages’ and ages’ encrustations, Then only may these songs reach fruition.”
Only after centuries of rejection, growth, and the accumulation of countless readers and experiences will these poems finally be fully realized.
The poet expresses a patient, prophetic hope for his work's eventual acceptance and impact.